Indiantown Hospital Negligence Lawyer

Patients who suffer severe injuries due to hospital negligence could be entitled to legal restitution through the civil court system. An Indiantown hospital negligence lawyer could explain what civil remedies could be available to compensate you for the damages you have suffered due to your care center injury. If you believe your injuries resulted from a medical provider or a laboratory’s negligence, contact a dedicated personal injury attorney at Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa today to receive your confidential case evaluation and discuss the possible next steps.

Determining Negligence in an Indiantown Hospital Malpractice Case

There is a multitude of ways in which a hospital could be found negligent, with some of the most common examples being a delayed diagnosis, misdiagnosis, birth injuries, improper patient monitoring procedures, prescription mistakes, and anesthesia errors. Other examples of potential hospital negligence include wrong-site surgery, wrong patient surgery, avoidable infections, and a medical provider’s failure to fully inform the patient of the possible risks associated with their procedure.

While many medical errors could be avoidable, it is essential to emphasize that just because a healthcare provider makes a mistake does not necessarily mean there is cause to file a malpractice lawsuit. For an Indiantown attorney to bring a valid hospital negligence claim, the following primary elements of negligence must be proven:

  • The physician-patient relationship pre-dated the injury, and therefore the medical provider owed the patient a duty of care
  • The physician did not deliver the acceptable duty of care expected of professionals working in the medical field
  • The physician’s failure to provide the appropriate duty of care was the direct cause of the patient’s harm
  • The patient sustained injuries or damages

An attorney could investigate the facts surrounding the patient’s injury to determine whether a physician or other healthcare professional was acting negligent, and what damages may be recoverable if they were.

Pure Comparative Negligence Rule

The state’s pure comparative negligence rule applies in cases where both the medical provider and the patient share some measure of fault for the patient’s injuries. According to Florida Statutes § 768.81, a patient could be found to carry a percentage of fault for their losses and still collect compensation.

Whereas several states bar financial recovery if the claimant’s fault exceeds a certain percentage of liability, Florida permits recovery even if the patient is found to be more at fault than the defendant. With that being said, the patient’s financial recovery would be reduced by their percentage of liability. For example, if the patient is 70 percent to blame for their injuries, and the defendant is 30 percent at fault, the patient could still recover 30 percent of their financial losses.

Types of Compensation Which Could be Awarded

Pursuant to Fl. Stat. Ann. § 95.11, injured patients have two years from the time they learned or should have learned, of the medical provider’s error to establish a legal claim for recovery. The state also has a four-year statute of repose, meaning that injured patients could have up to four years out from the date the alleged malpractice occurred to file a compensation claim.

Types of compensation which could be obtained in the event of a successful settlement or court award include:

  • The patient’s medical expenses
  • The cost of any additional or corrective surgeries needed
  • Past and future wage loss
  • Emotional distress
  • Diminished quality of life
  • Pain and suffering

If the physician’s negligent care was especially shocking or egregious, an Indiantown hospital negligence attorney could also recover punitive damages on the injured patient’s behalf, to punish the careless behavior.

Schedule Your Case Review with an Indiantown Hospital Negligence Attorney

Financial recovery could be possible if you were injured due to hospital negligence, so it is vital to your case to seek capable legal representation without delay. If the statutory deadline does not file your case, you could lose out on your right to compensation. To safeguard your legal rights and recover the compensation you could be entitled to, reach out to an Indiantown hospital negligence lawyer at Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa.